CABINET OFFICE

Electoral Register

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the total additional cost borne by local authorities as a result of the shift to individual voter registration; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The Government made a comprehensive assessment of the cost of IER, including its cost impact on local authorities, in the impact assessment laid with the Bill available here:
	http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm81/8109/8109.pdf
	We are currently working with practitioners from local authorities to ensure that the indicative IER funding allocations, to be announced in October, are appropriate.

Electronic Government: Petitions

David Crausby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his Department's policy is on answering Government online petitions which reach over 10,000 signatures.

Andrew Lansley: I have been asked to reply 
	as Leader of the House of Commons.
	As I explained in my written ministerial statement of 13 September 2012, Official Report, column 16WS, e-petitions that receive more than 10,000 signatures will receive a written response from Government.

Emergency Planning College

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he will next visit the Emergency Planning College; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: I enjoyed my visit, with my hon. Friend, to the Emergency Planning College on 12 July this year. I have no plans for a visit in the near future.

Employment: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of recent trends in female employment in (a) Wrexham constituency and (b) Wales.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated October 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what assessment he has made of recent trends in female employment in (a) Wrexham constituency and (b) Wales. (169799)
	ONS compiles Labour Market Statistics for areas below the UK following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions using the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	Table 1 shows the number of women aged 16 and over in the requested geographies who were in employment in the week prior to interview for the 12 month period July 2012 to June 2013, the latest available period, and for the 12 month period July 2011 to June 2012, along with the change in the number between the two periods.
	Table 2 shows the employment rate in the requested geographies for women aged 16 to 64 in the week prior to interview for the 12 month period July 2012 to June 2013, the latest available period, and for the 12 month period July 2011 to June 2012, along with the change in the number between the two periods.
	A wide range of other labour market data for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities is also published on the Office for National Statistics' Nomis website:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Employment level for women aged 16 and over 
			 Thousand 
			  12 months ending  
			  June 2012 June 2013(1) Change between 12 month periods ending June 2012 and June 2013 
			 Wrexham constituency 14 **15 1 
			 Wales 620 *629 10 
			 (1) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality following. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV = 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Employment rate for women aged 16 to 64 
			 Percentage 
			  12 months ending  
			  June 2012 June 2013 Change between 12 month periods ending June 2012 and June 2013 
			 Wrexham constituency 70.5 71.9 1.4 
			 Wales 63.1 63.8 0.7 
			 Source: Annual Population Survey

Procurement

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment his Department makes of the (a) payment of minimum wage, (b) payment of living wage and (c) use of zero hours contracts when tendering for public procurement contracts.

Nick Hurd: This Government awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. We encourage contractors to commit to paying a living wage and insist that employers pay at least the national minimum wage.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is undertaking a review of zero hours policy and practice, and in the light of this work, Cabinet Office will determine whether any changes need to be made to government procurement policy.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Doron Almog

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he was made aware of the relevance of the judicial arrest warrant for Mr Almog when granting the application for Mr Almog's special mission.

Hugh Robertson: When the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), decided on the application for special mission status for the visit of Mr Doron Almog, he was aware that an arrest warrant had been issued on 10 September 2005 in relation to an application for a private prosecution against Mr Almog and that it had been cancelled on 16 September 2005.

Doron Almog

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the purpose of Mr Almog's special mission to the UK was; which official engagements he attended during in his mission; in which capacity he visited the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: I refer my hon. Member to the answer given by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the member for North East Bedfordshire (Mr Burt), on 12 July 2013, Official Report, column 429W.

Syria

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress he has made on co-operation with his European counterparts in Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The UK has been at the forefront of securing a strong EU response to the crisis in Syria. For example, we played a leading role in securing EU condemnation of 21 August chemical weapons attack in Syria. And, thanks to the work of the UK and our European partners, the EU continues to amend sanctions on Syria that support our two key aims: putting pressure on the Assad regime, and providing support to the legitimate, moderate Syrian opposition.
	We continue to push hard to ensure EU funding continues to be used to help alleviate the awful humanitarian suffering caused by the conflict. This has been successful, most recently at the UN General Assembly where the EU and its member states pledged an additional €3 07 million for the UN humanitarian appeals.
	Since the end of 2011 the commission has provided €515 million in humanitarian assistance for Syria and its neighbours. And a further €328 million has been provided for education, support to host communities and local societies. EU member states have provided a further €493 million in humanitarian aid. This brings the overall total EU contribution to more than €1.7 billion.
	The UK has also been central in securing the EU's calls to put pressure on all parties for a swift political solution to the Syria crisis, and increased humanitarian access in Syria.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on training Afghan nationals in relation to the Bost Airfield and Agricultural Business Park Programme; and how many such Afghan nationals were sent abroad for training.

Justine Greening: As part of a programme approved under the previous Government in 2009, £200,000 was spent improving local capacity, including training costs. Five Afghan nationals attended training workshops abroad. The exact costs of this training are not available.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress her Department has made on the Bost Airfield and Agricultural Business Park programme.

Justine Greening: This programme was approved under the previous Government in 2009. At that time, Ministers did not sign off business cases for below £40 million and so the programme was approved by officials.
	Since 2010, Ministers have assessed that this programme did not represent value for taxpayers money and work on the Agricultural Business Park programme has therefore been discontinued.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Minister in her Department had overall responsibility for the Bost Airfield and Agricultural Business Park projects.

Justine Greening: This programme was approved under the previous Government in 2009. At that time, Ministers did not sign off business cases for below £40 million and the programme was approved by officials.

Buildings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many square metres of office space her Department (a) owns and (b) rents in London; and what the value is of that property.

Alan Duncan: DFID owns one property in London, namely 22-26 Whitehall, SW1, which comprises 8,678 square metres, and is valued at £44,145,000. DFID currently holds the lease for one other property, at 1 Palace street, London, SW1 but this will be surrendered in December 2013 as the final part of our London HQ relocation to Whitehall. Palace street is 15,274 square metres.

Somalia

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when (a) she and (b) officials of her Department last met representatives of Puntland and Jubaland.

Justine Greening: I attended the conference on a New Deal for Somalia in Brussels on 16 September along with representatives of Puntland and Jubaland. My officials met representatives of Puntland in Garowe on 1-3 October and representatives of Jubaland in Nairobi on 27 September.

Somalia

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when (a) she and (b) officials of her Department next plan to meet with representatives of Puntland and Jubaland.

Justine Greening: Ministerial travel to Somalia depends on security considerations. My officials are meeting with representatives of Puntland in Garowe in early October and they plan to meet with representatives of Jubaland in Nairobi in November.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Retail Trade

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the (a) number of retail outlets which have closed since 2007 and (b) value of the revenue non-domestic rates which has been foregone as a result of those closures.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 8 October 2013
	This information is not centrally held by my Department.

DEFENCE

Gurkhas

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what comparative assessment he has made of the treatment of, and support given to, (a) retired Gurkha soldiers and (b) other UK soldiers.

Anna Soubry: Retired Gurkhas in the United Kingdom are supported in the same way as any other ex-service personnel and have access to all the service charities. All retired Gurkhas with more than four years service have been able to apply to settle in the United Kingdom.
	Those retired Gurkhas still resident in Nepal are supported by the Gurkha Welfare Trust. The Gurkha Welfare Trust receives an annual grant in aid from the Ministry of Defence of over £1 million to assist with administrative costs in Nepal. This allows the Trust to use the charitable donations it receives to support those retired Gurkhas in need.

Military Decorations: World War II

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time members of staff of (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies were engaged on the processing of applications for (i) Arctic Stars and (ii) the Bomber Command Clasp in each calendar month since the first application for each medal was made.

Mark Francois: The total number of full-time staff engaged on the processing of applications for both the Arctic Star and the Bomber Command Clasp per calendar month is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 2013 Total 
			 February 1 
			 March 13 
			 April 20 
			 May 33 
			 June 33 
			 July 33 
			 August 33 
			 September 33

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to assist war veterans with mental health issues.

Anna Soubry: The provision of health care for veterans in England is the responsibility of individual GP-led Clinical Commissioning Groups in the national health service (NHS). The comprehensive services they provide reflect local priorities and the aspirations of the Armed Forces Covenant. The NHS in England has developed services that have increased the availability of mental health professionals to meet the needs of veterans and Department of Health and NHS England is supporting the transfer of these to GP commissioned services.
	In general, mental health in serving personnel and veterans is as good as, and in most cases better than, the civilian population. Significant effort is put into preventing the onset of mental health problems and providing effective support and treatment when required. In recent years the provision of mental health support for veterans has increased and the NHS has made a clear commitment to support the armed forces community.
	The Ministry of Defence provides war pensions and compensation for mental health problems caused by service and complements NHS services by providing a Veterans and Reserves mental health programme, offering a full mental health assessment by military specialists for Reservists who have deployed on operations since 2003 and veterans with operational service since 1982.
	The Government is implementing all of the recommendations in ‘Fighting Fit’, the report written by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison). These measures include an increase in the number of mental health care professionals; a dedicated 24-hour helpline in partnership with Combat Stress; an online mental health support and advice website provided by the Big White Wall; structured mental health assessment as part of routine and discharge medicals; and the Veterans Information Service to make contact with recent service leavers to make them aware of mental health and other support available in the community.
	As part of our ongoing commitment, over £5 million from the LIBOR fines has been awarded to programmes supporting mental health in the service community.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to answer question number 162512 tabled on 26 June 2013 for answer on 1 July 2013.

Anna Soubry: I will respond to the hon. Member shortly. I am sorry for the delay. It has taken longer than expected to verify the figures in what is a complex expenditure area.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Legal Costs

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his office spent on external lawyers' fees in the last year for which figures are available.

Nicholas Clegg: The Deputy Prime Minister’s office has spent nothing on external lawyers’ fees since 1 April 2013.

JUSTICE

Children: Abuse

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there have been for cruelty to or neglect of children in each English police force area in each year since 1995.

Damian Green: Protecting children from harm is a Government priority and all children should be able to grow up in a safe, happy environment. The focus must be on early intervention as we know that the earlier that help and support is given to vulnerable children and families, the more chance there is of turning their lives around, protecting children from harm and aiming to prevent problems escalating into child cruelty.
	However in order to deal with situations where that is not possible it is important that we have legislation in place to punish offenders for this intolerable behaviour. This is why we have an offence of child cruelty (which includes neglect) at section 1 of the Children and Young Person's Act 1933. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
	The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for cruelty to or neglect of children, by police force area in England, from 1995 to 2012 (latest available), can be viewed in the tables.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for cruelty and neglect of children(1), by police force area, England, 1995 to 2012(2, 3) 
			 Offence and Police force area 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
			 Crueltyorneglectofa child(1)          
			 AvonandSomerset 14 18 35 23 18 21 17 22 30 
			 Bedfordshire 1 0 0 3 2 4 2 3 5 
			 Cambridgeshire 13 11 7 8 17 9 3 4 9 
			 Cheshire 22 24 24 22 31 19 13 18 12 
			 CityofLondon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 1 4 3 7 1 9 7 10 9 
			 Cumbria 4 3 4 5 4 7 8 18 20 
			 Derbyshire 8 12 12 8 7 11 13 9 0 
			 DevonandCornwall 15 22 24 17 16 17 17 26 14 
			 Dorset 3 2 5 3 3 2 3 5 9 
			 Durham 7 6 11 11 13 10 12 8 13 
			 Essex 8 10 13 12 28 19 8 10 10 
			 Gloucestershire 1 0 4 5 7 3 8 4 10 
			 GreaterManchester 27 15 30 50 49 34 42 35 47 
			 Hampshire 16 17 25 28 39 48 35 31 62 
			 Hertfordshire 10 6 9 9 22 4 14 9 24 
			 Humberside 8 3 11 14 11 20 7 13 17 
			 Kent 7 3 5 9 16 8 25 41 38 
			 Lancashire 12 13 25 25 24 19 25 22 12 
			 Leicestershire 14 9 15 13 7 12 12 14 18 
			 Lincolnshire 4 15 11 12 15 8 5 9 14 
			 Merseyside 4 9 17 17 18 16 9 14 11 
			 MetropolitanPolice 60 62 75 84 95 91 81 120 140 
			 Norfolk 2 2 5 5 4 5 5 4 12 
			 NorthYorkshire 11 6 0 3 12 9 7 4 6 
			 Northamptonshire 1 2 6 7 13 13 10 6 5 
			 Northumbria 11 22 19 32 45 29 11 26 23 
			 Nottinghamshire 41 20 17 17 20 23 14 23 28 
			 SouthYorkshire 5 10 10 18 13 14 11 9 17 
			 Staffordshire 18 19 16 7 14 24 12 13 24 
			 Suffolk 6 3 2 1 9 8 6 8 8 
			 Surrey 0 1 1 3 5 3 8 5 8 
			 Sussex 8 5 11 14 15 15 12 11 10 
			 ThamesValley 14 14 16 12 14 15 14 12 7 
			 Warwickshire 3 3 4 3 6 3 0 5 0 
			 WestMercia 6 5 5 11 7 8 11 16 20 
			 WestMidlands 31 29 39 29 52 42 63 81 127 
		
	
	
		
			 WestYorkshire 40 25 35 64 58 50 41 33 29 
			 Wiltshire 9 16 7 4 11 5 2 7 8 
			 England 465 446 558 615 741 657 593 708 856 
		
	
	
		
			 Offence and Police force area 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Crueltyorneglectofa child(1)          
			 AvonandSomerset 18 23 15 8 11 25 28 28 15 
			 Bedfordshire 7 6 5 8 1 7 4 3 7 
			 Cambridgeshire 19 11 7 5 10 15 10 7 12 
			 Cheshire 11 16 7 23 25 39 14 15 15 
			 CityofLondon 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 
			 Cleveland 8 12 13 11 11 14 9 10 10 
			 Cumbria 5 17 9 16 21 18 19 21 26 
			 Derbyshire 11 9 11 12 14 5 9 9 8 
			 DevonandCornwall 8 19 49 48 26 22 15 18 13 
			 Dorset 6 3 5 3 6 10 3 5 12 
			 Durham 19 12 12 19 23 28 27 20 15 
			 Essex 18 9 7 4 5 9 6 6 9 
			 Gloucestershire 7 5 4 8 6 14 2 4 11 
			 GreaterManchester 40 36 43 32 56 58 78 66 47 
			 Hampshire 29 25 19 31 32 36 22 40 29 
			 Hertfordshire 5 7 15 8 12 19 24 8 19 
			 Humberside 20 8 15 10 19 23 19 17 13 
			 Kent 23 16 7 15 20 16 32 28 34 
			 Lancashire 11 27 16 20 31 33 63 56 45 
			 Leicestershire 15 8 15 15 12 18 18 15 8 
			 Lincolnshire 19 12 7 8 4 3 6 6 8 
			 Merseyside 19 22 14 31 24 17 32 26 22 
			 MetropolitanPolice 106 106 85 68 124 121 171 145 145 
			 Norfolk 14 8 17 10 19 20 15 13 13 
			 NorthYorkshire 10 12 19 9 15 11 7 18 27 
			 Northamptonshire 9 10 3 2 1 14 9 10 15 
			 Northumbria 23 41 31 29 31 31 20 19 7 
			 Nottinghamshire 20 11 17 11 11 11 14 8 7 
			 SouthYorkshire 17 13 12 16 9 28 16 8 16 
			 Staffordshire 43 25 22 8 12 2 11 6 4 
			 Suffolk 8 9 12 7 11 12 9 11 8 
			 Surrey 7 11 4 8 4 8 10 10 8 
			 Sussex 7 14 3 13 10 13 24 10 23 
			 ThamesValley 6 19 17 32 27 15 23 31 26 
			 Warwickshire 3 5 3 6 4 6 1 7 5 
			 WestMercia 21 14 17 24 7 31 20 20 22 
			 WestMidlands 172 108 131 107 140 186 123 93 54 
			 WestYorkshire 36 22 26 23 35 52 32 32 34 
			 Wiltshire 8 16 6 8 7 9 9 5 5 
			 England 828 747 720 716 837 999 956 854 797 
			 (1 )An offence under Children and Young Persons Act 1933, S.1 (2 )The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Legal Aid Scheme: Prisoners

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison law cases funded by legal aid concerned (a) prison conditions, (b) treatment by staff, (c) discrimination, (d) communications and visits, (e) mother and baby issues, (f) compassionate release, (g) behaviour courses and (h) other treatment issues since May 2008; and what proportion of such cases were successful.

Jeremy Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally) in the other place on 6 June 2013, Official Report, House of Lords, columns WA205-06.

Life Imprisonment

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that prison sentences without the possibility of release undermine a prisoner's human rights.

Jeremy Wright: The Government is deeply disappointed with the judgment delivered on 9 July by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights about whole life tariffs. The judgment does not mean that prisoners currently serving a whole life order must now be released, nor that they must all immediately come before the Parole Board for consideration of release. There is no prospect of imminent release for the three applicants in the case.
	We strongly believe that whole life tariffs are appropriate for the most heinous crimes and this judgment does not say that whole life tariffs may not be imposed. We are considering the implications of the judgment, and we will set out our response in due course.

Offences Against Children

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions there have been for cases of sexual activity with a child under 16 in each English police force area in each year since 1995.

Damian Green: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for sexual activity with a child under 16 (including sexual offences against children under 13, separately identified in the legislation), by police force area in England, from 1995 to 2012 (latest available), is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for sexual activity with a child under 16(1), by police force area, England, 1995 to 2012(2, 3) 
			 Offence and police force area 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
			 Sexual activity with a child under 16(1)          
			 Avon and Somerset 7 6 4 5 4 8 8 4 9 
			 Bedfordshire 2 3 0 1 2 9 3 2 2 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 1 2 1 8 1 3 5 1 
			 Cheshire 6 5 6 4 0 2 3 5 6 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 18 11 0 1 0 1 0 2 4 
			 Cumbria 3 2 1 6 5 2 1 3 2 
			 Derbyshire 9 1 4 4 4 5 3 5 4 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10 6 7 5 1 1 3 5 4 
			 Dorset 3 0 1 0 1 0 5 0 5 
			 Durham 2 2 1 2 4 1 2 3 6 
			 Essex 4 6 3 11 9 9 8 9 8 
			 Gloucestershire 4 2 0 3 1 2 1 2 2 
			 Greater Manchester 10 5 11 8 9 11 7 11 10 
			 Hampshire 13 8 1 6 8 5 10 15 16 
			 Hertfordshire 4 3 5 2 1 3 2 4 1 
			 Humberside 6 1 4 2 6 4 1 5 5 
			 Kent 9 5 4 10 14 8 6 9 8 
			 Lancashire 7 11 3 6 8 3 7 11 11 
			 Leicestershire 6 7 4 6 5 3 4 2 1 
			 Lincolnshire 9 1 6 4 6 4 5 4 2 
			 Merseyside 10 5 5 1 0 1 4 2 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 14 6 11 12 12 18 19 17 21 
			 Norfolk 5 3 5 5 7 4 4 2 2 
			 North Yorkshire 2 7 9 3 2 7 4 6 5 
			 Northamptonshire 4 3 5 3 3 0 1 0 2 
			 Northumbria 7 6 9 11 8 9 9 8 10 
			 Nottinghamshire 13 9 3 7 11 12 14 6 5 
			 South Yorkshire 8 3 6 5 4 6 1 7 7 
			 Staffordshire 6 7 4 7 6 12 11 5 7 
			 Suffolk 1 2 5 2 5 3 0 1 7 
			 Surrey 1 2 2 1 0 6 3 6 1 
			 Sussex 2 4 3 4 2 2 6 4 6 
			 Thames Valley 11 7 5 4 4 5 4 6 6 
			 Warwickshire 2 4 3 2 2 1 3 3 1 
			 West Mercia 2 6 3 4 2 8 2 10 4 
			 West Midlands 12 11 17 12 14 12 20 18 17 
			 West Yorkshire 19 14 16 21 10 18 10 8 19 
			 Wiltshire 2 3 2 4 2 3 8 3 8 
			 England 255 188 180 195 190 209 205 218 237 
		
	
	
		
			 Offence and police force area 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Sexual activity with a child under 16(1)          
			 Avon and Somerset 19 33 25 31 48 44 48 53 29 
			 Bedfordshire 1 18 7 10 8 7 9 9 8 
			 Cambridgeshire 4 23 20 21 25 31 35 15 15 
			 Cheshire 10 16 15 19 30 28 21 20 23 
			 City of London 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Cleveland 6 11 9 12 14 17 10 27 18 
			 Cumbria 11 15 10 17 14 22 25 18 20 
			 Derbyshire 11 35 21 29 39 49 43 37 39 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9 21 16 26 24 32 43 36 39 
			 Dorset 1 8 14 10 8 14 11 10 14 
			 Durham 12 20 23 17 16 20 31 25 20 
			 Essex 10 23 21 8 22 28 24 22 19 
			 Gloucestershire 4 20 12 13 18 13 18 11 11 
			 Greater Manchester 34 60 69 68 58 79 83 92 88 
			 Hampshire 38 46 49 68 57 84 89 82 76 
			 Hertfordshire 5 19 17 11 11 15 21 24 17 
			 Humberside 13 24 16 20 27 44 46 39 32 
			 Kent 4 2 1 6 24 44 44 35 50 
			 Lancashire 22 58 64 52 51 73 79 97 64 
			 Leicestershire 14 20 24 27 12 30 26 26 21 
			 Lincolnshire 12 22 23 16 19 18 26 20 14 
			 Merseyside 6 7 16 29 25 22 33 30 27 
			 Metropolitan Police 38 89 99 93 125 131 121 134 140 
			 Norfolk 7 15 9 23 17 28 39 29 25 
			 North Yorkshire 11 9 17 21 19 31 24 24 27 
			 Northamptonshire 0 8 9 1 15 22 38 26 17 
			 Northumbria 9 20 40 35 43 42 57 53 41 
			 Nottinghamshire 17 31 25 27 14 18 21 25 22 
			 South Yorkshire 11 29 29 38 35 28 30 27 31 
			 Staffordshire 16 25 27 32 24 23 45 31 24 
			 Suffolk 7 21 24 10 14 16 27 17 18 
			 Surrey 4 18 12 16 8 16 22 20 21 
			 Sussex 8 30 31 33 23 45 37 40 43 
			 Thames Valley 11 44 31 45 40 45 49 70 54 
			 Warwickshire 5 11 9 15 15 13 17 16 12 
			 West Mercia 25 38 34 35 23 51 42 45 27 
			 West Midlands 33 64 73 64 53 69 62 61 53 
			 West Yorkshire 24 40 34 33 41 42 54 43 58 
			 Wiltshire 2 19 14 10 12 15 18 18 17 
			 England 474 1,013 989 1,041 1,071 1,349 1,468 1,408 1,274 
			 (1) An offence under Sexual Offences Act 2003, S.4 (1) to (4), S.4 (1) to (3) and (5), S.9(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2), S.10(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2), S.12 (1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2), SS.9(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2) and 13, SS.10(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2) and 13, SS.11(1)(a), (b) and (d)(i) and (2) and 13, SS.12(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2) and 13, S.9(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (3), S.9 (1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (3), S.10(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (3), SS.9(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (3) and 13, SS.10(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (3) and 13, S.8(1) and (2), S.8(1) and (3), S.9(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (2), S.10(1)(a), (b) and(c)(ii) and (2), S.11(1)(a), (b), (c) and (d)(ii) and (2), S.12(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (2), SS.9(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (2) and 13, SS.10(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (2) and 13, S.11(1) (a), (b), (c) and (d)(ii) and (2), SS.12(1)(a), (b), (c)(ii) and (2) and 13, S.9(1)(a), (b), (c)(ii) and (3), S.10(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (3), SS.9(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (3) and 13, SS.10(1)(a), (b) and (c)(ii) and (3) and 13 (2) The figures given in the tables on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice.

Prison Sentences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people (a) of each sex, (b) of each age group and (c) who have committed each offence type were sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence for their first offence in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Tough sentences are available to the independent judiciary who decide the sentences for individual criminals based on the full facts of the case.
	Defendants are now more likely to be convicted for committing crime and sent to prison for longer than they were a decade ago.
	(a) Table 1 shows the number of offenders sentenced in England Wales to immediate custodial sentence for their first offence by gender in each year since 2008.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number and percentage of the first time offenders(1) sentenced to immediate custody for their first offence by year and gender in England and Wales, 2008- 12 
			  Female first time offenders Male first time offenders All first time offenders 
			  All disposals Immediate custody % All disposals Immediate custody % All disposals Immediate custody % 
			 2008 79,396 1,506 1.9 200,952 8,174 4.1 282,222 9,721 3.4 
			 2009 73,138 1,372 1.9 178,452 7,771 4.4 253,624 9,209 3.6 
			 2010 62,297 1,280 2.1 160,093 7,334 4.6 225,061 8,674 3.9 
			 2011 54,555 1,207 2.2 145,731 7,056 4.8 202,451 8,323 4.1 
			 2012 46,428 1,078 2.3 127,647 6,490 5.1 176,065 7,631 4.3 
			 (1) All first time offenders in the table includes offenders where the gender is unknown. Source: Police National Computer, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	(b) Table 2 shows the number of offenders sentenced in England Wales to an immediate custodial sentence for their first offence by age group in each year since 2008.
	
		
			 Table 2: Number and percentage of the first time offenders(1) sentenced to immediate custody for their first offence by year and age group in England and Wales, 2008-12 
			  Juvenile first time offenders Adult first time offenders All first time offenders 
			  All disposals Immediate custody % All disposals Immediate custody % All disposals Immediate custody % 
			 2008 81,592 391 0.5 200,630 9,330 4.7 282,222 9,721 3.4 
			 2009 65,267 344 0.5 188,357 8,865 4.7 253,624 9,209 3.6 
			 2010 47,627 297 0.6 177,434 8,377 4.7 225,061 8,674 3.9 
			 2011 37,787 335 0.9 164,664 7,988 4.9 202,451 8,323 4.1 
			 2012 28,711 264 0.9 147,354 7,367 5.0 176,065 7,631 4.3 
			 (1) All first offenders in the table includes offenders where the age is unknown. Source: Police National Computer, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	(c) Table 3 shows the number of offenders sentenced in England and Wales to an immediate custodial sentence for their first offence by offence type in each year since 2008.
	
		
			 Table 3: The number of first time offenders1 who received immediate custody for their first offence in England and Wales by year and offence type, 2008-12 
			  2008 2009 2010 
			  No. of first time offenders No. of first time offenders sentenced to immediate custody % No. of first time offenders No. of first time offenders sentenced to immediate custody % No. of first time offenders No. of first time offenders sentenced to immediate custody % 
			 Violence against the person 22,596 1,256 5.6 19,881 1,278 6.4 17,610 1,162 6.6 
			 Sexual offences 3,138 1,021 32.5 3,034 1,053 347 3,209 1,100 343 
			 Burglary 4,107 132 3.2 3,633 196 5.4 3,175 214 6.7 
			 Robbery 1,540 320 20.8 1,525 304 19.9 1,641 350 21.3 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 48,520 688 1.4 45,453 760 1.7 37,046 781 2.1 
			 Fraud and forgery 13,208 3,139 23.8 12,090 2,569 21.2 11,469 2,052 17.9 
			 Criminal damage 5,592 70 1.3 4,392 104 2.4 3,437 70 2.0 
			 Drug offences 24,237 1,222 5.0 21,426 1,187 5.5 20,703 1,180 S.7 
			 Other indictable offences 10,276 1,233 12.0 9,777 1,158 11.8 9,739 1,197 12.3 
			 Indictable motoring offences 1,507 104 6.9 1,315 107 8.1 1,221 95 7.8 
			 Summary offences excluding motoring 106,583 351 0.3 94,166 325 0.3 83,954 351 0.4 
			 Summary motoring offences 40,919 185 0.5 36,932 168 0.5 31,856 121 0.4 
			 Unknown — — — — — — 1 1 — 
			 Total 282,222 9,721 3.4 253,624 9,209 3.6 225,061 8,674 3.9 
		
	
	
		
			  2011 2012 
			  No. of first time offenders No. of first time offenders sentenced to immediate custody % No. of first time offenders No. of first time offenders sentenced to immediate custody % 
			 Violence against the person 14,963 1,094 7.3 12,309 988 8.0 
			 Sexual offences 3,229 1,101 34.1 3,290 1,208 36.7 
		
	
	
		
			 Burglary 3,324 333 10.0 2,604 336 12.9 
			 Robbery 1,850 364 20.8 1,567 309 19.7 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 31,100 896 2.9 25,006 884 3.5 
			 Fraud and forgery 9,673 1,656 17.1 7,921 1,453 16.3 
			 Criminal damage 3,002 88 2.9 2,512 82 3.3 
			 Drug offences 19,948 1,083 5.4 18,357 979 5.3 
			 Other indictable offences 8,436 1,182 14.0 6,976 937 13 4 
			 Indictable motoring offences 968 82 8.5 917 84 9.2 
			 Summary offences excluding motoring 76,762 325 0.4 67,940 296 0.4 
			 Summary motoring offences 29,196 99 0.3 26,666 75 0.3 
			 Unknown — — — — — — 
			 Total 202,451 1,323 4.1 176,065 7,631 4.3 
			 (1) Table includes offenders where the gender and age is unknown. Source: Police National Computer, Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	First time entrants are offenders who received their first reprimand, warning, caution or conviction for a recordable offence committed in England and Wales. Non-recordable offences (i.e. TV licence evasion, driving without insurance) are not recorded on the Police National Computer and therefore not counted. Where there were multiple offences on the same occasion, the primary offence as recorded on the Police National Computer would be counted.

Prison Service: Redundancy

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers have applied for the voluntary early departure scheme in each of the last four years.

Jeremy Wright: The following table sets out the number of applications from prison officers which have been submitted for a quote for a voluntary early departure which has taken place, or will take place, in 2013-14; or which took place in each of the three preceding business years. The numbers of applications for 2010-11 are incomplete in that they only include those relating to departures which took place in March 2011:
	
		
			 Year of departure Applications submitted for a voluntary exit quote 
			 2010/11 (incomplete) 4 
			 2011/12 36 
			 2012/13 312 
			 2013/14 (to date) 1610 
		
	
	For business years prior to 2013-14, the Ministry of Justice has only retained records of applications which were selected for a voluntary exit quote to be provided. The Ministry has not retained records of applications which were not approved.
	In addition, the Ministry only holds these records by date of departure, not by date of application; and does not hold records of applications which led to departure before March 2011.

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convicted murders (a) are currently on a day release and (b) have been on a day release in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The Department is conducting a review of the policy and processes on release on temporary licence (ROTL) and, as part of that review, we are considering the availability and quality of data, with a view to publishing more detailed information about temporary releases.

Prisoners' Transfers: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners currently held in prison in England have applied for a transfer to a prison in Scotland to complete their sentence.

Jeremy Wright: From 1 September 2012 to the 31 August 2013 a total of 19 prisoners submitted requests for transfer from prisons in England and Wales to prisons in Scotland to continue serving sentences of imprisonment or to facilitate a period of temporary visits with close family.
	The transfer of prisoners between England and Wales and Scotland is a voluntary process with the criteria for transfers set out in the then Home Secretary's statement to Parliament on 28 October 1997.

Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what planned maintenance programmes have been (a) cancelled and (b) postponed at each prison establishment since April 2010.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is committed to maintaining a safe and decent environment across the custodial estate. All refurbishment projects are listed for inclusion in the MOJ maintenance programme according to the degree of refurbishment required and any associated health and safety risks to staff and prisoners.
	Projects are subject to change or cancellation dependant on the changing priorities of the prison estate and the availability of funds. Cancelled projects include refurbishment of the reception area and putting new windows in the prison gym.
	The following table shows the number of planned maintenance projects (a) cancelled and (b) postponed in each prison region. These form part of an ongoing programme of maintenance. Please note, the information in this table is taken as at May 2010 and not April 2010 as we get a much clearer picture of our programmes in May rather than April.
	
		
			 Table: Planned maintenance programmes forecast to start on May 2010 that were either (a) cancelled or (b) postponed, by prison region 
			 Prison region Number of programmes cancelled Number of programmes postponed 
			 East Midlands 5 0 
			 East of England 7 4 
			 Greater London 12 1 
			 High Security 0 0 
			 Kent and Essex 0 0 
			 Kent and Sussex 4 0 
			 North East 2 0 
			 North West 6 6 
			 South Central 6 1 
			 South East 2 0 
			 South West 7 1 
			 Wales 0 0 
			 West Midlands 5 1 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 8 4 
			 Total 64 18

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many persons were convicted for breach of a restraining order under the terms of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in 2012;
	(2)  how many persons were given a restraining order under the terms of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in 2012.

Jeremy Wright: To provide greater protection to potential victims of crime, the Government changed the Protection from Harassment Act so that the court may impose a restraining order when it deals with a person for any offence, whether or not they have been convicted for it.
	Since 2012, the Government has introduced new specific stalking offences and delivered training and guidance for police officers and prosecutors about the new legislation. The Home Office lead on this work. The Government action plan to end violence against women and girls makes an undertaking to continue to raise awareness of stalking to improve professionals’ response.
	There were 18,690 people given a restraining order under the terms of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 during 2012 in England and Wales.
	There were 5,797 people convicted for breach of a restraining order under the terms of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 during 2012 in England and Wales.

Stalking

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether mental health assessments are made available to individuals (a) charged with and (b) convicted of stalking.

Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:
	(a) A person who is charged with an offence and diagnosed with a mental health problem may be offered a mental health assessment if the illness requires it and if there is a liaison and diversion scheme at the police station or at the court. The court may order a psychiatric report or the defence may submit one of its own volition before trial, if the suspect appears to have mental health problems that will determine the progress of the case.
	We are now rolling out liaison and diversion services, so that the police and courts will be able to identify individuals with mental health problems more quickly and, wherever possible, ensure that effective treatment is available without unnecessary delays.
	(b) In relation to an individual who is convicted of a stalking offence and receives a sentence for that or other offences which make him subject to statutory supervision, the offender supervisor (in prison) or offender manager (in the community) may refer the offender for a specialist mental health assessment. Such a referral is not automatic and will be made only following careful consideration of all relevant circumstances. Where a specialist mental health assessment is obtained, the offender supervisor or offender manager should review and, as necessary, revise the offender’s risk assessment, using the offender assessment system (OASys). From the OASys assessment, the offender supervisor and/or offender manager will develop a sentence plan, setting out interventions to address known risks, as well as a risk management plan, to manage those risks. In the case of an offender convicted of stalking, the sentence plan and risk management plan should contain relevant actions to address that conviction.
	Where an offender convicted of a stalking offence falls to be managed under the statutory Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), by virtue of the sentence which he received or the risk of harm which he presents, the decision to refer the offender for a specialist mental health assessment should be discussed at MAPPA meetings.

Trillium

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on contracts with Trillium Group in each year since 2008.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice has no spend on contracts with Trillium Group since 2008.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Buildings

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the expenditure on office refurbishment by (a) her Department and (b) her Department's non-departmental public bodies in each year since 2010-11.

James Brokenshire: Expenditure on larger office refurbishment projects is subject to business case approval and procurement rules.
	Expenditure is subsequently assessed on completion by way of post-project reviews. Spend data is captured and recorded against industry standard categories to provide unit rates. These costs are then able to be reviewed against cross-departmental benchmarks as required by the Government Construction Strategy.

Offences against Children

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date she commissioned her Department's Independent Review of all Home Office files received about organised child sex abuse from 1979 to 1999; what the remit was of that inquiry; to whom it reported; what the name was of the independent reviewer; on what basis they were appointed; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: As set out in the published executive summary of the interim report, in February 2013 the Home Office permanent secretary commissioned an Independent Review of all Home Office files from 1979 to 1999 to identify any information received about organised child sex abuse. An experienced investigator from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) led the review with additional oversight provided by HMRC's Director of Criminal Investigation. The terms of reference can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226170/ToR_Final.pdf

Offences against Children

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  with reference to her Department's review of all Home Office files received about organised child sex abuse from 1979 to 1999, how many papers or reports could not be located or accounted for by the review team; for what reasons they could not be located; and whether this was within the Government guidance on retention and disposal of files and papers at that time in each such case;
	(2)  how many relevant files were found to be missing from her Department's independent review of all Home Office files received about organised child sex abuse from 1979 to 1999; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: As set out in the executive summary of the final report the Independent Review carried out an extensive analysis of a central database containing details of over 746,000 files for the 1979 to 1999 period and identified 527 potentially relevant files which had been retained. These 527 files plus 46 personnel files (573 in total) were all physically examined by the Independent Review.
	Out of an extensive analysis of a central database containing details of over 746,000 files for the 1979 to 1999 period, 114 potentially relevant files had been presumed destroyed, missing or not found.
	The Independent Investigator was satisfied that the Home Office did pass on to the appropriate authorities any information received about child abuse in the period 1979 to 1999 which was credible and which had any realistic potential for further investigation.
	The permanent secretary has accepted all the recommendations from the Independent Reviewer and the Department has implemented all of them.

Offences against Children

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to her Department's review of all Home Office files received about organised child sex abuse from 1979 to 1999; what progress her Department has made progress towards meeting the recommendations of that review; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The permanent secretary has accepted all the recommendations from the Independent Reviewer and the Department has implemented all of them.

Offences against Children

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to her Department's review of all Home Office files received about organised child sex abuse from 1979 to 1999, on what dates staff of her Department were dismissed for child abuse between 1996 and 1998.

Damian Green: As set out in the executive summary of the final report the four cases involving Home Office staff relate to offences in the period 1996 to 1998. None of the cases contain evidence of the direct physical abuse of children. The Investigator found no evidence of any connection between the cases, or that Home Office equipment or facilities were used in the offences. All four staff were dismissed.
	Specific details regarding the date on when these individuals were dismissed is not being released as this would present the possibility that they might be identified by other parties.

Offences against Children

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress she has made on locating the dossiers submitted to her Department by the former hon. Member for Huddersfield West (1979 to 1983) and Littleborough and Saddleworth (1983 to 1995) in relation to child abuse in 1983 and 1984; and if she will place copies of those dossiers in the Library.

Damian Green: As set out in the published executive summary of the interim report the Independent Review confirmed that the Home Office did receive information from Mr Dickens in November 1983 and in January 1984 about alleged child abuse. Copies of the material have not been retained but a Home Office file contains a copy letter dated 20 March 1984 from the Secretary of State in response to Mr Dickens. The letter confirms that the information was considered at the time and that any matters requiring investigation were referred to the police. An extract of this letter has been published at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226167/Executive_Summary_-_Interim_Report.pdf

Public Relations

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department and its associated public bodies spent on (a) external public relations consultants and (b) public affairs consultants, in each of the past three years; and for what purposes such consultants were engaged.

James Brokenshire: In each of the past three financial years the Home Office and associated public bodies have had no spend on (a) external public relations consultants and (b) public affairs consultants. This compares to 427,691 in 2007-08, £1,180,968 in 2008-09 and 508,208 in 2009-10.

Security

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in her Department since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: 1,105 departmental building passes/staff identity cards have been reported lost or stolen since May 2010 to 31 August 2013. This figure includes those building passes reported as lost or stolen by other Government Departments that either occupy or have building passes for the Home Department estate and also any agency/contractors who have Home Department passes. However, the figures do not take into account any building passes that are lost but then subsequently found by staff at home etc or are returned back to us via Royal Mail.
	The loss of any Government asset, which includes Home Office building passes and staff ID cards, is treated very seriously. All staff must report the loss to their respective departmental security unit without delay. Each loss is investigated and recorded. As soon as a loss is reported to security immediate measures are taken to de-activate the access control capability. Departmental security personnel constantly remind staff to be vigilant with their passes and staff ID cards.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Food Banks

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the study into the use of food aid commissioned by his Department in February 2013 will be published.

George Eustice: holding answer 10 September 2013
	DEFRA has commissioned research to review evidence on the landscape of food aid provision and access. The work comprises a short research project assessing evidence already publicly available on the provision of food aid in the UK. Once completed, the conclusions of this work will be made available on the Government's website.

WALES

Agricultural Sector (Wales) Bill

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Attorney-General on the Agricultural Sector (Wales) Bill passed by the National Assembly for Wales in July 2013.

David Jones: The hon. Gentleman is undoubtedly aware that the Attorney-General, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve), has referred the question of the Assembly’s legislative competence in relation to this Bill to the Supreme Court for decision.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Army

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will consider establishing an independent panel to investigate events surrounding the Ballymurphy Massacre in August 1971.

Theresa Villiers: I have received the proposal from the Ballymurphy families for an independent review panel into events surrounding deaths in the Ballymurphy area in August 1971. This is currently being considered.

Army

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will work with members of the Dail to seek a way to fully investigate the events surrounding the Ballymurphy Massacre in August 1971.

Theresa Villiers: I have regular discussions with Justice Minister Alan Shatter which cover a range of issues, including addressing the past in Northern Ireland.

Army

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 4 March 2013, Official Report, column 771W, on the Army, for what reasons she has decided that a public inquiry into the deaths at Ballymurphy on 9 August 1971 would not be in the public interest.

Theresa Villiers: In reaching my decision I considered other investigations, including fresh inquests, which were ongoing, and concluded that these would be able to establish the circumstances of the deaths.

Army

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will meet the families of those who died in the Ballymurphy Massacre in August 1971 to discuss justice for those families.

Theresa Villiers: I met the Ballymurphy families on 31 January 2013 to hear their concerns.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Aiding and Abetting

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases of joint enterprise were prosecuted in each of the last five years in each prosecution service.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of cases prosecuted involving joint enterprise. To provide this information would require a manual search of files incurring disproportionate cost.

Buildings

Chris Ruane: To ask the Attorney-General how many square metres of office space the Law Officers' Departments (a) owns and (b) rents in London; and what the value is of that property.

Oliver Heald: The Law Officers' Departments do not own any properties in London.
	The Attorney-General’s Office leases one site and occupy a total of 784.6 m(2). This has a rateable value of £500,000.
	The total floor space rented by the Serious Fraud Office in Cockspur Street, London is 3,196 m(2). This has a rateable value of £1,760,000.
	The CPS rents 26,012 m(2) of office space in five properties in London. The Valuation Office Agency 2012 valuations placed on these premises amounted to £6,409,441.
	Of these three properties are in London postal districts, and these represent 22,506 m(2) of which 5,578 m(2) is sub-let to other tenants. The total Valuation Office Agency 2012 valuations placed on these premises amounted to £6,023,441. Additionally the CPS rents 3,506 m(2) of office space in two properties in greater London (Sidcup and Croydon). The Valuation Office Agency 2012 valuations placed on these premises amounted to £386,000
	TSol leases two sites which equates to 11,624.52 m(2) of space across London. These are operational sites for office accommodation for the department and a disaster recovery and data centre. HMCPSI has sublet 311 m(2) of this office space from TSol. The Valuation Office Agency 2011 valuations placed on these properties amounted to £4,015,739.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Charities

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make it his policy to ensure that his Department does not give grants to charities whose principal officers or employees engage in criminal activity at protests.

Jo Swinson: In line with previous Administrations, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not provide grants for organisations that are involved in criminal activity. Organisations that exist for political purposes would not meet the criteria for charitable status and we would be unable to award them grants under the Charities Act 2006. If you are aware that any Government funding has been misused, or any other assistance given, for the purposes of inappropriate political campaigning, we would welcome your drawing it to our attention.

Exports: West Midlands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises in the West Midlands started exporting for the first time as a direct result of the work of UK Trade and Investment West Midlands in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years.

Michael Fallon: UKTI's Passport to Export clients are most likely to be new to exporting, although some may have exported in the past or have exported small quantities of goods and services.
	In 2012/13 UKTI West Midlands supported 1,026 enterprises to export overseas. 175 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 187 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 664 through other significant one to one assistance by the west midlands international trade advisers.
	In 2011/12 UKTI West Midlands supported 884 enterprises to export overseas. 132 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 149 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 603 through other significant one to one assistance by the west midlands international trade advisers.

Exports: West Midlands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises in the West Midlands started exporting to a new market for the first time as a direct result of the work of UK Trade and Investment West Midlands in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years.

Michael Fallon: We do not capture data on new export markets, however we are encouraging companies to look at new markets as well as developing their existing export markets and many of our services focus on finding opportunities in new markets.
	In 2012/13 UKTI West Midlands supported 1,026 enterprises to export overseas. 175 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 187 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 664 through other significant one to one assistance by the west midlands international trade advisers.
	In 2011/12 UKTI West Midlands supported 884 enterprises to export overseas. 132 were supported through the Passport to Export programme, 149 through the Gateway to Global Growth programme and 603 through other significant one to one assistance by the west midlands international trade advisers.

Exports: West Midlands

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much additional export volume was generated for businesses in the west midlands as a direct result of the work of UK Trade and Investment west midlands in the last (a) 12 months and (b) two years.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment has recently started to measure trade growth value. This measure was designed to record cases where an enterprise has progressed in its pursuit of overseas business opportunities to the point of successfully winning contracts. During FY 2013/14, west midlands SMEs completed trade growth value (TGV) forms totalling £8.19 million from 25 companies.
	There are no figures available prior to April 2013, when UKTI started recording TGV data, however, there has been a significant increase in exports in the west midlands in the last 18 months. Exports reached over £6.5 billion between 1 April 2013 and 30 June 2013, according to the export statistics published on 5 September 2013 by HM Revenue and Customs. Compared to the previous quarter, exports from the west midlands increased by 6.5%, the highest growth of all English regions.
	Compared with the same quarter in 2012, the growth is 18%—equating to more than £1 billion more exports from the region.
	The assistance provided to exporters by the UKTI team also involves help at earlier stages in this export development process. In the west midlands in 2012/13, UKTI WM supported 175 companies (passport to export) and in 2013/14, to date, has supported 182 with the aim of supporting 350 by the end of the year.
	UKTI’s Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey measures the value of additional sales resulting directly from its export services, as reported by the UK businesses using the services. For UKTI trade services as a whole, the total additional sales reported in the 2012/13 UKTI annual report was £49.6 billion. We do not have a regional breakdown of these statistics.

Redundancy

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff were made redundant from non-departmental public bodies accountable to his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13; and how many redundancy payments were made in lieu of notice.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) does not centrally hold the information in respect of NDPBs.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Compensation

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department is taking steps to improve airline passenger rights in the event of the (a) cancellation of and (b) severe delay to flights.

Patrick McLoughlin: Air passenger rights in situations of denied boarding, cancellation and long delay are dealt with under EC Regulation 261/2004. The regulation applies to all services operated within the boundaries of the EU and on services from a third country on an EU carrier.
	The European Commission are proposing a range of amendments to Regulation 261/2004 to reinforce enforcement policies and procedures, and improve passenger rights.
	The UK Government fully supports the regulation and is playing a full and active part in the negotiations and will be looking to support proposals that meet the needs of passengers while balancing the financial considerations of the airlines.

Bus Services

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many people are in receipt of a free bus pass in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people resident in Ashfield constituency who do not live within half a mile of a bus stop.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport's survey of Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) in 2012 showed that Nottinghamshire TCA forecast 176,000 older and disabled persons bus passes on issue to residents for the financial year 2012-13. Owing to incomplete returns it is not possible to give a total for the east midlands. It is estimated that in England there are around 10 million bus passes. Further information is published in Table BUS0821 and Table BUS0890 at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus08-concessionary-travel
	The survey collects information at TCA level so the Department does not hold information for individual parliamentary constituencies such as Ashfield.
	The Department's National Travel Survey (NTS) asks the respondents to estimate the time it takes to walk to the nearest bus stop as part of the household interview. Figures for the east midlands and England can be found in the published table NTS9916 at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts99-travel-by-region-and-area-type-of-residence
	NTS sample sizes do not allow for analysis of smaller geographic areas.
	The Department does not collect any information on distances to the nearest bus stop.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to protect Grade I and Grade II listed buildings during the construction of High Speed 2.

Patrick McLoughlin: HS2 Ltd has sought to avoid direct impacts on all heritage assets during the route selection process. No grade I or II* listed buildings are currently directly physically affected by either phase of the proposed HS2 route.
	With the current proposed scheme for phase 2, eight grade II listed structures would be directly impacted although, with detailed design, preservation may be possible for some of the structures.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what amount was paid by HS2 Ltd to KPMG for its report, HS2 Regional Economic Impacts, published in September 2013.

Patrick McLoughlin: The amount paid to KPMG was £242,126 inclusive of VAT.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the cost of chassis-compatible High Speed 2 trains is included in the current published estimate for the cost of High Speed 2 rolling stock.

Patrick McLoughlin: The cost of the classic-compatible High Speed 2 trains is included in the current published estimate for the cost of High Speed 2 rolling stock.

Shipping

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department has taken as a result of International Shipping Week.

Stephen Hammond: Building on the success of London International Shipping Week is a key maritime priority. The Department will continue to work constructively with industry and other Government Departments, through our strategic partnership approach, to promote the UK's maritime offer and ensure that the UK maintains its competitive position as the leading place to do maritime business.

Shipping

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what support his Department will provide for International Shipping Week in the light of the success of its inaugural event.

Stephen Hammond: London International Shipping Week was a great success and clearly demonstrated the excellence of the UK maritime industry.
	A feedback survey is currently being conducted with all delegates of London International Shipping Week. Officials from the Department for Transport and from across Government, will continue to work closely with industry counterparts to assess the findings of the survey and to consider future events.

Travel

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on travel for departmental officials in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport and its Executive Agencies' expenditure on travel for departmental officials was:
	
		
			  Amount (£) 
			 2008-09 26,153,596 
			 2009-10 22,134,630 
			 2010-11 16,985,759 
			 2011-12 16,408,916 
			 2012-13 16,819,883 
			 Notes: 1. The figures include Vehicle Certification Agency travel costs which are recharged to clients. These are the gross costs before recharge. 2. The figures also include Maritime and Coastguard Agency costs incurred while performing statutory fee earning work recoverable from the customer. 
		
	
	Within the above totals, the total spent by the central Department in 2012-13 was £2,155,963. By way of comparison, the total amount spent in 2008-09 was £4,229,486.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to review the adequacy of the current regulatory framework for civil use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Patrick McLoughlin: There are no current plans to review the current regulatory framework for the civil use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). The Department and the Civil Aviation Authority is satisfied that the current regulations are adequate and proportionate to the level of activity in the UK.
	The UK is also actively contributing to the development of harmonised, international regulations. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is currently developing RPA Guidance Material, due for publication in autumn 2014, with Standards expected about two years later. Within Europe, the European Commission's RPAS Roadmap was published on 20 June 2013—this sets out the milestones and timing aimed at an incremental integration of RPAS into European airspace from 2016, with the publication of Implementing Rules for operations, personnel licensing and certification from 2018 onwards.